Jazz

Overview

Our four-year Bachelor of Music (BMus) undergraduate degree programme attracts talented young musicians from across the world to study with today’s finest musicians and teachers.

The BMus combines focused study in performance with supporting academic studies. Every aspect is designed to help you towards realising your full musical potential, and to prepare you for your career in music.

You will have at least one hour of one-to-one tuition per week in your Principal Study and numerous performance opportunities. We offer a wide range of activities, events, training sessions and modules for you to hone your skill in such things as studio recording and editing techniques, self-promotion and marketing, writing CVs, making funding applications, understanding the music business and working in arts management.

At the end of your third and fourth years, you submit a portfolio of materials to help prepare you for professional life after the Academy.

BMus Entry Requirements

• Performance/Composition: High standard of performing potential or composition, strong musicianship, and good aural skills.
• Music Exams: Formal exams are not required, but successful performers are typically at a Grade 8 Distinction level or higher.
• Music Theory: Grade 6 level knowledge is recommended before starting if you aren't taking school music exams.
• Keyboard Skills: No formal minimum required (unless it's your Principal Study), though Grade 5 piano is desirable to support general musicianship.

See Entry Requirements for full academic and international criteria.

Modules

Principal Study

30 hours per year of one-to-one instrumental lessons culminating in an end-of-year recital.

Second Study (optional)

Provision is available for tuition on a second-study instrument (5 or 10 hours per year). You must apply to your tutor at the start of the academic year.

Ensemble Projects

These comprise weekly workshops and culminate in a public performance. The programme of concerts varies from year to year and provides a foundation of core knowledge, enabling you to undertake a broad ensemble schedule throughout your studies. First-year students take part in two projects featuring the music of some of the great African American Jazz Masters. In February there is an intensive Jazz Festival featuring inter-year ensembles with various guest artists.

Jazz Orchestra

All Undergraduate students get the chance to participate in the Jazz Orchestra during their studies. Projects feature a wide range of repertoire, guest soloists, composers and directors, culminating in a public concert in the Academy or at an external venue.

Artist Development

In an increasingly competitive musical profession, you will need to be equipped with the essential tools to flourish. We have excellent links with the jazz media and industry, resulting in regular seminars with journalists, broadcasters and record label owners. At the end of the BMus and Postgraduate Programmes there is a Artist Development Portfolio that includes many key skills and real-world examples, such as writing funding applications and press releases. You also have the chance to take electives in Principles of Education and Music in the Community, and to study for the additional LRAM teaching diploma.

Composition and Arranging

This core course has been designed to give students the tools and the confidence to continue composing when they have left the Academy. At undergraduate level you will cover specific harmonic approaches to writing throughout the year, with regular performance workshops of the compositions. Students in the fourth year complete two contrasting large-scale projects: creative writing for Octet and a major work for Jazz Orchestra performed in a public concert.

Jazz Supporting Studies

This module provides opportunities for students to develop skills in writing two-stave short scores and fully notated piano parts, supporting the requirements of the C&A course.

Aural and Transcription

This course cultivates the aural skills that will underpin your improvisation and playing. You will learn to recognise and identify different chord qualities, modal sounds and key centres. You will also undertake regular transcription projects to internalise the vocabulary and phrasing of the great players in history.

Contemporary Rhythmic Skills

This introduces non-Western principles of rhythm drawn from Asian, African and Latin American traditions. The course aims to familiarise you with techniques of group co-ordination and with individual and collective learning methods appropriate to aural/oral methodologies.

Repertoire and Improvisation

You will learn a list of commonly played tunes by ear, all of which typify a particular harmonic or compositional device. You will then use these tunes to explore a variety of improvisational approaches and strategies.

Creative Technology

This course explores the latest developments in interactive technology within live and recorded music. You will be encouraged to experiment through practical projects, and develop an integrated approach with software such as Ableton Live, Logic and various hardware pedals and controllers. You will also gain studio experience to explore the basic requirements and practical considerations of the recording environment.

Jazz History: from African American origins to todays multicultural world jazz

Familiarity with the history of jazz has been central to the learning process of all jazz innovators. This BMus course develops critical awareness by analysing major works and linking them to their cultural context. Concentrating on the genre’s African American and European origins, the intention is to stimulate critical debate over the aesthetic, social, political and ethical decisions facing contemporary jazz practitioners.

Rhythmic Studies of the African Diaspora

This introduces non-Western principles of rhythm drawn from Asian, African and Latin American traditions. The course aims to familiarise you with techniques of group co-ordination and with individual and collective learning methods appropriate to aural/oral methodologies. Teaching areas include case studies of tribal musics; rhythm studies; transcription; composition and arrangement analysis; group movement and co-ordination; ensemble drumming; additive rhythm; and percussion techniques.

Auditions

We want you to view your audition as a recital rather than a rigid test. Our panel is looking for your unique musical personality, your instrumental technique, and your potential for growth. Try to relax, focus on storytelling through your instrument, and let us hear who you are as a musician.

All jazz candidates are initially assessed by video recording as Round One of the audition process, after which candidates may be invited to a Round Two recall.

Your Audition Repertoire (Round One)

For your Stage 1 video submission, you must upload three pieces, each recorded in its own single, unedited 'take'. You should perform with a live group or use a playalong/minus-one backing track if necessary.

Repertoire Guidelines:

• List 1 (Medium to Up-Tempo Standard): Performance of one tune from this list: Airegin, Alone Together, Take the A Train, On Green Dolphin Street, I Mean You, or It Could Happen To You.
• List 2 (Ballad Tempo Standard): Performance of one tune from this list: I Fall in Love Too Easily, Darn That Dream, Chelsea Bridge, I Should Care, Soul Eyes, or God Bless the Child. Vocalists should refer to a Real Book for lyrics or transcribe them from a recording.
• List 3 (Original Composition or Arrangement): Performance of an original composition or arrangement by you. You must upload a PDF concert-pitch score for this item. If you cannot secure a live group, you may submit a computer audio file (e.g. Logic or Sibelius), but you must perform along with the track.

Expected Performance Form

The panel expects to hear specific elements depending on your instrument pathway:

• General Instrumentalists: Play the melody ("theme/head") on the first chorus, take approximately two choruses of solo improvisation over the sequence, and play the theme out to finish. For the ballad, half a chorus or one chorus of improvisation is sufficient.
• Vocalists: Sing the theme, take two improvised choruses, and follow with half a chorus of improvisation for the ballad.
• Piano / Guitar / Vibes: Play the theme on one of the tunes, and perform an additional chorus of comping behind a soloist (or with the backing track if a live soloist is unavailable). Please note: Jazz Guitar is treated as a front-line solo instrument, so the live recall rhythm section will include a piano.
• Bass: Display soloing and accompanying skills, and play some of the theme on one of the pieces (it does not need to be for the entire tune).
• Drums: Play behind front-line and/or piano soloists, and include an additional chorus or two of "trading".

What to Expect on Audition Day (Round Two Recall)

Following the panel's review of your Round One footage, you may be invited to a recall. In your application profile, you will be able to indicate whether you prefer this recall to be in person in London or online.

1. Delivery Options & Technical Elements

• In-Person Recall (London): You will participate in a live practical audition. This may include a performance of one of your selected List 1 or List 2 pieces, and a 'workshop' performance of your List 3 free-choice piece. You must bring parts for the rhythm section and Bb frontline. Drum kit candidates must bring their own cymbals, sticks, and brushes.
• Online Recall: Remote assessment options and interviews will be arranged for candidates who are unable to attend the live sessions in London.
• Sight-Reading & Interaction: During the recall, you will be required to demonstrate real-time sight-reading proficiency and your overall ability to relate to an accompanying group.

2. Academic Interview & Harmony Assessment

Undergraduate jazz candidates are interviewed during their practical audition session. This conversation is designed to explore your musical background, artistic influences, knowledge of the idiom, and future study goals.

Directly following your practical audition, you will also complete the following academic element:

• Short Harmony/Theory Paper: A brief written test evaluating your understanding of jazz harmony and music theory fundamentals.
• Spoken English Introduction: As part of your initial digital application profiles, candidates must also provide a spoken introduction recording.

For more information see auditions.